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Mecklenburgh Square

French windows open to a Juliette balcony offering views over the courtyard garden and through Crittall doors to the study

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This elegant three-bedroom maisonette, with a private courtyard garden, spans three dramatic levels of a Grade II*-listed Regency townhouse in central London’s Bloomsbury conservation area. The house was originally built by George Payne in the 1810’s and the interior is defined by its expansive living spaces and soaring ceilings, which unfold over almost 2,400 sq ft. Designed by Rachel Chudley Interiors, the apartment occupies a central position on the west-facing side of the square, overlooking the verdant foliage of Mecklenburgh Square Garden. The garden is exquisitely maintained garden and only available for resident key holders. Quietly set amongst the academic, literary and medical institutions of Bloomsbury’s wide avenues, it is also a short walk from all that Kings Cross, Clerkenwell and Lambs Conduit Street have to offer.

Setting the Scene

Mecklenburgh Square is a coveted location, famed for its distinguished list of notable historic residents, many of whom comprised the ‘Bloomsbury Set’ – a group of intellectuals, academics, and artists prominent during the first half of the 20th Century. Among its notable occupants was Eileen Power, a distinguished medievalist scholar who resided at this very address on the Square from 1922 to 1940. During her time there, she hosted regular ‘kitchen dances’ attended by another esteemed resident, the writer Virginia Woolf.

The Grand Tour

The formal entry is at raised-ground level with a separate entrance at lower ground. The former opens to a substantial living room with wide-board pine flooring, intricate cornicing and a log burner with a handsome copper surround. French windows open to a Juliette balcony offering views over the courtyard garden and through Crittall doors to the study and reading space at the rear. Here, the flooring is slate, laid in a herringbone pattern. A roof light is positioned overhead, providing natural light from two aspects.

An open staircase turns to the upper level, two enormous rooms currently used to form a dramatic primary suite. The first of these spaces serve as a bathroom and dressing room, with two curved corner sections concealing a WC on one side and a sink/vanity unit on the other; a lovely free-standing copper bath sits in the light of a towering window. The second room, positioned at the front of the building, is set behind the apartment’s incredible floor-to-ceiling sash windows.

The same staircase descends to the lower-ground level, coming first to a snug/cinema room, also with slate flooring that extends into the courtyard garden through a wall of Crittall. The kitchen and dining room is beyond and also open to the outside space. A La Cornue range cooker is set at the far end, and an original cast-iron stove is positioned within a central alcove.

Pine-parquet flooring in this room flows into oak in the hallway, which leads to a further kitchen space, a separate WC, and a bedroom at the front with an en suite shower room. A third bedroom is positioned on the raised-ground level at the front of the building, accessed via the living room through a corridor with a guest WC.

The Great Outdoors

Aside from the apartment’s private courtyard garden, the communal gardens are for the sole use of residents. These extend to approximately two acres, made up of formal lawns and gravel paths with mature plane trees and several ornamental species. The east side of the garden is planted with plants native to New Zealand. It contains a children’s playground and a tennis court.

Further green space can be found at Russell Square, Gray’s Inn Gardens and Coram’s Fields.

Out and About

Mecklenburgh Square is quietly located at the Clerkenwell end of Bloomsbury. Nearby Lamb’s Conduit Street is home to an exciting community of independent shops spread along a pedestrianised street, including Anya London, Alder and Green, and Mochee, and creative food cooperatives in The People’s Supermarket. The street is also lined with excellent restaurants and bars; Noble Rot keeps an award-winning wine list and a menu of fine ‘Franglais’ dishes, while Ciao Bella has become something of an Italian institution. The Brunswick Centre, a short walk away, is home to a Curzon cinema and a Waitrose supermarket. The restaurants and bars of Clerkenwell, Exmouth Market, Covent Garden, and Soho are all within walking distance, as are the colleges and institutes of the University of London.

Kings Cross (Northern Line), Russell Square (Piccadilly Line), Holborn (Central and Piccadilly Lines), Chancery Lane (Central Line), and Farringdon Station (Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Metropolitan Line, Crossrail, Thameslink and National Rail services) are all close by. The Eurostar is available at St Pancras.

Tenure: Share of Freehold
Underlying Lease Length: approx. 996 years remaining
Council Tax: Band G

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. Inigo has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.